Good morning! Today, Bulldog fans should be as thankful as Tolu Smith is for the staff and personnel that have guided both basketball programs to fantastic starts to the season. 2024 has just begun, but there is much to be excited about as the Dawgs prepare for SEC play.

What else did we throw into today’s Bulldog Brew?

🏀 Two weekly SEC awards Bulldog women’s basketball
🏈 Getting familiar with the coaching staff
🐶 And much, much more!

🎥 COURTSIDE CONVERSATIONS

Courtside Conversations: Josh Hubbard. Join freshman stand-out Josh Hubbard courtside and hear what breaking the high school scoring record meant to him. Hear how Shak and Rams have played a part in his development, get the lowdown on Coach Jans' support and find out how the trust in his coach is boosting Hubbard's confidence.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Three’s Company. Following the second triple-double of her career, Darrione Rogers earned the SEC Player of the Week. Her selection marks the first time in SEC women’s basketball history that three different players from the same team were named SEC Player of the Week in three straight weeks. Rogers’ performance against Mississippi Valley State landed her the award after finishing the game with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

🔼 Getting Familiar. Bulldog football is entering a new era, and with that will come a bunch of new faces on the sideline for the 2024 season. Today, get to know a little bit more about State’s newest quarterback coach, Matt Holecek.

📚️ Read more about Coach Holecek and why he wanted to come to Starkville

🔼 Stacking Up. Forward Quanirah Montague earned her first award of the season after being named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week. Montague came up big in the most recent win for the Bulldogs where she recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. On defense, she added six blocks which marked the most from a State player since 2018.

🔼 State to the Show. As the NFL’s regular season winds to a close, it’s time to check on some of the former Bullodgs who stood out in Week 17.

🏈 Safety Jonathan Abram had one of his best games of the season with the New Orleans Saints. He finished the game with five solo tackles, one interception and a forced fumble en route to a massive win to keep the team alive in the playoff race.

🏈 Quarterback Dak Prescott guided the Dallas Cowboys to a win in which he threw his NFL-leading 31st and 32nd touchdowns on 345 passing yards. His performance marked the fifth 300-plus-yard game of the season.

🏈 Linebacker Preston Smith posted the top defensive grade (90.3) and pressure grade (90.2) on the Packers last week in an important win against their division foes.

📚️ Read more about the former Bulldogs in the NFL and how they performed this past week

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Showing Off. State women’s basketball can beat opponents in many different ways, and most times, it’s a different player each game that steps up in a big way for the Bulldogs.

Our question today: Can you name the past three SEC Player of the Week winners from Bulldog women’s basketball?

Think you know the answer? Scroll down to the bottom to find out!

📬 STICK WITH US

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🐶 DAWG DAILY

Today’s Dawg Daily: New Year's Look Back. Happy New Year! Before Joey and Jalyn peek into conference play, they'll dive back into the dominance of both men's and women's basketball over the break, as well as early signing day success.

✅ Listen to today’s Dawg Daily on Spotify

🍎 Listen to today’s Dawg Daily on Apple Podcasts

📆 LOOKING AHEAD

Thursday 1/4

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Vanderbilt @ 6:30pm in Starkville, MS | Listen | Live Stats

Saturday 1/6

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. South Carolina @ 11:00am in Columbia, SC | Watch | Listen | Live Stats

🐶 Click here to see the full Mississippi State Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Lauren Park-Lane, Jessika Carter and, of course, Darrione Rogers!

Park-Lane was named on Dec. 26 and center Jessika Carter was named SEC Co-Player of the Week on Dec. 19. 

🐶 Have a great Wednesday, y'all!